


All for her

by another_maggies



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, SuperCorp Family, Supercorp baby, Trauma, Wives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/another_maggies/pseuds/another_maggies
Summary: Happily married, the greatest struggles of Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor usually revolve around raising their two-year-old daughter to the best of their abilities while maintaining their careers. That is, until tragedy strikes.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 18
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Kara had always liked getting letters.

As one of the things she'd never encountered on Krypton they had mesmerized her from the very first time she saw Jeremiah opening mail on a Sunday morning. Amused by her interest and happy to indulge her in anything that would serve to cheer the young girl up, he'd readily offered her some letters to open. It became a ritual of sorts, Kara opening the letters for Jeremiah and him reading them, until, one day, Kara got her first _own_ letter.

It had merely been a list of books she'd need for next term, but to Kara it was _everything_. Noticing her interest, Eliza signed her up to postcrossing, and soon Kara had heaps of mail to open every Sunday.

Her habit deteriorated as she grew up, the bleak duty of writing college applications dampening her interest in extra-writing after hours considerably. Then, she started college and then...

Then, she met Lena and she started writing letters again. “Long and sappy” letters Alex teased her relentlessly for. Not that it mattered. In the end, they proved successful with Kara proposing via letter #101 two years into their relationship. And while they read vows at their wedding, Kara always treasured the lengthy handwritten letter Lena presented her with during their honeymoon. (If Alex had witnessed her reading that one for the first time, she would have _certainly_ teased her.)

Both Kara and her wife kept with the tradition over the years. When Kara won her first award in journalism she found their postbox overflowing with a collection of her neatly cut-out articles. When Lena was named as one of the 30-below-30 she got 30 rave reviews. When their attempts at expanding their family proved successful an envelope with the black-and-white proof rested neatly next to a celebratory cake in the fridge.

Kara had always liked getting letters. Yet when she read the letter addressed to her and signed by her mother-in-law's lawyer all she could do was cry.


	2. Chapter 1: The letter

**Chapter 1: The letter  
**

“...This is the way we put on our pants. We get dressed everyday. This is the way we –”

“Lena? Have you seen my pink shirt?”

“Which one? Rose quartz or watermelon?”

“Uhm... I don't have a watermelon– The one with the little diamonds.”

“Ah. The _bubblegum_ one.” Lena smiled as she adjusted the straps on her daughter's overalls. “Are you comfortable, dot?”

The two-year-old nodded, returning the smile brightly. “Pink 'ralls!,” she exclaimed happily.

“Yes, you're wearing your hot pink overalls. You'll match Yeju today... That is, if she can find her shirt.” Conspiratorial giggles erupted between the two. (Although, given Karlotta's age it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume hers were more on the contagious side.)

“ _Hey_! I heard that!” Kara's head popped into the room through the open door. “And I haven't found it. You never told me whether you've seen it,” she pouted.

Lena shrugged. “Can't recall that I have. Did you check the laundry room?”

“ _Did I check the_ – where else would I check?”

“The closet. And. Did you?”

Face-to-face with her wife's raised eyebrow, Kara immediately dropped her act. “I'll go check right now...”

“Gli'er socks,” Karlotta chimed in, growing wide-eyed.

“Fabulous idea, Lottie,” Lena praised. “Kara! Could you be a dear and check whether Lottie's sparkly silver socks are available, while you're at it?” She'd barely raised her voice when she called after her wife. Perks of being married to a superhero with enhanced hearing.

“What shoes do you want to wear today, dot?”

“Weafer?”

“It's nice out today, but you're going to preschool in the morning, so no open shoes.” Not that Lena believed any child of hers would ever consider wearing socks in open shoes.

Karlotta mulled it over for a moment, a solemn expression on her face, before she made a choice. “Converse!”

“Great choice,” Lena praised just as a pair of glittery socks was dropped onto her lap.

“Leave it to our kid to not be able to pronounce her last name, but have her fashion labels down to a T,” Kara commented lightheartedly.

“Better start them early, especially considering she's 50% you and even after eight years you still can't tell your hot pink from your fuchsia,” Lena parried easily.

Kara shrugged. “At least  _I_ found my shirt.”

“Careful, Mrs. Danvers. I'm pretty sure the reason I couldn't find my shirt is because you ripped –”

In an instant Kara had leaped forward to cover their daughter's ears. “Little ears, Lena!”

“Aw, c'mon. It'll go right over her head. She's way too excited to see her friends – aren't you, little bug?”

Karlotta bobbed her head up and down. “We're gonna do pasta art!”

“Huh? What's that?”

“Not that I've ever had the opportunity, but I'm pretty sure it's pictures made of pasta glued to paper,” Lena explained as she maneuvered their child back towards her and started on her hair. “Good thing the new fridge is big enough to fit some more crafts.”

“Art... _made out of food_?” Kara looked positively horrified.

“Dusyl Yeju,” Karlotta put in, patting her little hand against her mother's thigh. Still caught in her bewildered emotion, the latter still managed to crack a smile and praise her daughter's use of Kryptonese. “:bem ughan, kir chavh.”

“Voi.” Of course, Lena didn't miss the exchange or pass up on the opportunity to practice her own use of the language. “I think we're all done. Time to put on your shoes.”

Karlotta beamed and went to fetch her pitch-black sneakers before settling in her Yeju's lap. She looked up at her with questioning eyes. “Yeju sing?”

Taking a comically big breath Kara began: “This is the way we put on our shoes...”

*

Kara's sister picked up on the third ring.

“Kara, hey... how is –”

“She's _suing_ me, Alex! It's been a week! A week and she hasn't called, hasn't texted, hasn't even asked... And now she's doing... _this_?? She has no right –”

“Kara! Kara, slow down. What's happening? Who's suing you? What for?”

“Lillian. Lillian Luthor is suing me for full custody.”

*

That night, the girl of steel found herself on the tiny twin mattress in her daughter's nursery wide awake as she listened to the young girl's even breath.

She couldn't lose her. She'd just lost... She couldn't lose her.

The two-year-old snuggled up close to her mother, as if she knew, even in her sleep, that she was needed this close.

“I won't let her take you,” Kara whispered into the dark room, “Never, kir chavh. I won't. I promise.”

She knew she had to fight this, no matter the cost. All for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm usually really bad at finishing multichapters, but I'm determined to see this brain child through. If anyone's interested in beta-reading, let me know, I've got a couple chapters already written out :)
> 
> PS: if you wanna know the origin of Karlotta's name I've got a story about that up on my account ;)
> 
> Kryptonian: (I invested 0 effort into researching grammar, sorry)  
> Dusyl - food  
> Yeju - mother  
> :bem ughan, kir chavh - good job, little one  
> voi - well


	3. Chapter 2: The talk

“This can't be right,” Alex said, shaking her head.

Kara sniffled. “I don't think Lillian cares much for right and wrong in this matter.”

“Still. I mean. Step-parent? I thought Lena's lawyers had this settled ages ago?”

Truthfully, it was almost impossible for someone as thorough as Lena Luthor to oversee something as significant as this.

“It's not her fault,” Kara defended her instantly, wiping her eyes against her sleeve. “We submitted the papers soon after Lottie was born it just... takes some time.”

Her older sister raised an eyebrow.

“I might have had a Supergirl thing during the home-study... uh, twice? And then when Lottie had her accident it further delayed things, because they had to investigate about her welfare.” Dismissively, she waved her hand. “But it's not like it really mattered. Not to us, that is.”

“Well fuck.”

Kara put a hushing finger to her lips, tuning her ears in to the room down the hall. Only when reassured that her sister hadn't subjected the toddler sleeping there to swearing she dropped her hand back in her lap.

“It's not ideal to say the least...”

“You could say that.” Alex snorted, then took a sip of her drink. Whiskey. As much as Kara wished she'd be able to indulge in some sort of alien liquor to dull the pain, it wasn't an option for her. She had a child to consider. For now, at least.

Her gaze dropped to her left hand which was fiddling with the silver wedding band on her right. “I was thinking maybe I could... uh... get a paternity – or, well, maternity, I guess... – test. I read that biological parentage is held in much higher regard than emotional welfare on Earth, so if I could prove that I'm Lottie's biological mother then maybe...”

“Kara.” Alex' voice sounded broken, as if she didn't want to say what was going to say next. “You know you can't do that.”

“We could say Lena didn't actually carry her...”

Alex inhaled sharply.

“Just imagining you'd get through with that _despite_ of all the pictures and that exclusive you did... then what? Lillian will drop the case and leave you be? Don't be naive, Kara.”

“I'm not naive,” the younger sister argued gently, but without much conviction.

“I know you want nothing more than to acknowledge the dot... But you know you can't. You know why you can't.”

Of course, she knew. The image of Alex raging, screaming at them for being _so stupid, so utterly selfish and ridiculously optimistic_ was deeply ingrained into her memories. She couldn't acknowledge Karlotta then and she couldn't now, not if she wanted to keep her safe. As safe as she could be, having been born into the Luthor dynasty and all that.

It had never mattered to Kara. Only few people knew who she really was, and even fewer of those knew of Karlotta's genetic makeup. It was safer that way and she understood the reasons completely. In the world they lived in, it was just the way it had to be. It had never mattered to her, but now that it _did_ matter to her case, she felt the pressing need to make it public.

“If we did it at the DEO...”  
“Lillian will want a second opinion,” Alex put in, “And as soon as _her_ doctor can't pierce your skin by needle –”

“I could just use red sunlamps or mild Kryptonite that day,” Kara suggested hopefully.

“ _Still_. A skilled professional will see that your DNA isn't quite human.”

Kara ran a hand through her hair, untied in the quiet comfort of her home. “Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, uh... revealing myself as an alien, I mean.”

“Revealing yourself as an officially unregistered immigrant alien? Yep, my bad, great idea. Let's go right to the next police station so we can get you arrested. Surely, that will work wonders for your eligibility as a parent.”

“I could reveal myself as Supergirl,” Kara offered meekly, her heart throbbing at the sarcasm her sister threw her.

A stern look on her face, Alex crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Absolutely not!”

“I know it's not the best course of action.” Fiddling with her glasses, Kara continued: “But I think it could work. I could make it work. We'd just need to keep an extra eye on Lottie for the time being...”

“Kara. We're talking exposing your Kryptonian identity to _Lillian_ Luthor. Exposing your daughter's Kryptonian identity to Lillian Luthor. Even if you make it out of that battle with full custody you'll have put the biggest target on her back. On both of yours. Never mind the scientific interests biologists will have in researching the dot.”

Alex was right, of course. The arguments were the same they'd discussed years ago, before Karlotta was even born.

It was hopeless. There was no way to win this. And yet Kara had to believe.

“I can't give up,” she whispered, “Alex, I can't... I can't lose her, too.”

She didn't look up when a hand started brushing against her arm. It hurt too much, reminded her too much of what it felt like when somebody else's hand was comforting her.

“Hey...” Alex hand moved from arm to chin, making Kara meet her eyes. “Nobody's talking about giving up, okay? We just need to be extra careful in choosing our next steps.”

Kara wanted to scream that it wasn't _their_ steps, because it wasn't their child. It was _her_ child, _her_ family, _her_ responsibility. She had failed them and she alone would bear the consequences. And her daughter, of course, if she was forced into the hands of Metropolis' mother-of-the-year.

There was no strength left in Kara to voice any of these thoughts.

“Tomorrow, we'll go to L-Corp and talk to Jess. We'll get you the top-notch lawyers of the country and we'll start building a case so good the judge will throw it out the moment they lay eyes on it, yeah?”

It sounded... nice. Hopeful. Kara nodded.

“Don't worry, okay? You're her mother. They'll see that. They won't take her away.” While talking, Alex had gotten up and rounded the breakfast bar, now engulfing Kara in a hug. “Everything will be fine, you'll see.”

She really did want to believe her sister, but she couldn't. After all, nothing would ever even be remotely fine again.

*

_This is nice_ , Kara mused her back pressed to the headboard of the bed she shared with her wife. It wasn't a novelty by any means. They had been married for almost three years and even before that they frequently shared the bed that had originally been just Lena's. Still, Kara treasured these moments of tranquility. Nothing to be heard except the sound of Lena flipping pages in her latest reading conquest and Kara's pen clicking lightly against her tablet as she doodled.

“This is nice,” she repeated out loud. It had always been important to her to let Lena know _just_ how happy being with her made Kara.

Lena lifted her eyes from the book and smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Kara confirmed, leaning over for a quick kiss. Another thing she never got tired of: her wife's kisses.

“So this has nothing today with you wrapping up the biggest DEO case and the most notorious news story of the year all within one day?,” Lena asked, always the perceptive one.

“Well... I'll agree that it does indeed increase my happiness, _but_ I'd still be happy without all that, as long as I would be here with you.”

“Aren't you quite the charmer, Mrs. Danvers? Please, tell me more about how you like being with me.”

Kara watched as her wife closed the book she'd been reading and hastily scrambled to get rid off her tablet as well. Things had been crazy since Lena started being high on pregnancy hormones. Not that Kara minded. Not one bit.

“Uhm... I like when you cup my cheek...”  
“Like this?,” Lena asked, her hand lightly caressing Kara's face.

The double innuendo wasn't lost on her wife, who smiled brightly.

“And I like it when you put your arm around my waist.”

“Like this?”

Kara nodded.

“And I like it when you let me slip my hand under your shirt and...”

Suddenly, Lena curved inward around Kara's hand, a hiss escaping her mouth.

“Lena? Are you okay?,” Kara asked worriedly.

Lena huffed. “I'm fine, I think. I just... ugh!” She twisted in Kara's arms, basically scaring the death out of her spouse.

“Oh my god! You're not okay!,” Kara asserted, always the less perceptive one between the two of them. She brushed her hands over Lena's sides absentmindedly. “We should call a doctor... or maybe the DEO. So Alex. Maybe? Or maybe just a doctor? I don't know. Is this normal for humans? I don't know what is. I should have looked this up, I'm sorry. I thought we had time, I -”

“Kara,” Lena interrupted. “I think it's fine now.”

“Oh.” Kara sighed. She was only relieved for a fresh second before the whole puzzle of the situation appeared clear on her mind again. “But what did just happen?”

“I don't know. It felt like somebody was knocking the air out of my lungs.”

Lena's hands went down to tuck up her shirt, but for very different purposes than intended mere minutes ago. When Kara spotted two fresh bruises on her wife's otherwise unblemished skin she gasped.

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Lena, I'm so sorry, I had no idea, I'm so sorry!”

Lena's eyes followed her wife's. She quirked a brow.

“Super strength, huh?” She patted her belly, a warm smile on her face. “Well, I guess we're lucky it's not heat vision.”

“ _Lena_!”

“Be a darling and get us a red sunlamp, Kara,” Lena said dismissively, her focus still on her (pretty much invisible) bump and the two dark spots on there.

Once she heard her wife fly off with whispered affirmations of 'Lena's gonna be ok, otherwise she wouldn't act so casual' on her lips, she took to the inhabitant.”Good to see you're enjoying yourself in there. But maybe we can agree to leave it for when mommy is _not_ trying to get some in the future, okay?”

*

“See you at home,” Kara promised after pressing a quick kiss goodbye to her wife's cheek in order to not mess up her lipstick.

She watched as Lena pulled out of her parking spot – much closer to the elevator than necessary for people their age, but quite appropriate based on the fact that she owned this company – and left the building. Then, she headed towards the elevator.

Today was bound to be a good day. Her new article on alien and human flatsharing was coming together nicely with all the interviews pretty much completed. She'd even found a blended family that had been willing to share about the ups-and-downs their lifestyle brought about. Of course, it wasn't like she didn't know about some of them. But as Kara Danvers, award winning journalist bridging the gap between aliens and humans from a _human_ perspective, she couldn't very well share about her private alien life. Even more so since both she and Lena had invested in keeping their private lives out of the press as much as possible.

Kara wasn't going to dwell on long past talks about the security of her daughter when she could focus on happy things, though.

“Good morning, Nia,” she greeted as her younger colleague joined her on the floor level, “Did you walk here this morning?”

Nia shook her head, a cheeky grin on her face. “No, I flew here... on the bus!”

In spite of the slight heat rising to her cheeks, Kara managed a chuckle. “Oh Rao. You guys are never gonna let me live that one down, huh?”

“Nope,” Nia replied joyfully, popping the final plosive. “It will be your in _supe_ rable plight.”

“I can never let Lena get drunk around you un _super_ vised again.”

“Ah, c'mon, it was _super_ -sweet how she recounted all these stories with the biggest heart eyes...” Realizing whom she'd just called heart-eyed, Nia quickly added: “Don't tell her I said that. She'll have me killed.”

“I wouldn't _dream_ of it,” Kara retorted, happy to get the last pun in.

Not that it mattered. Lena _was_ absolutely smitten with her. She still didn't quite know why. She only knew that it made her the luckiest (super-)woman on the planet.

“Speaking of getting drunk, are you guys gonna be at Alex' next week?”

Kara nodded. “But I'm afraid you won't get any stories there. Our babysitter can't make it, so we'll have Lottie with us.”

“That's fine,” Nia waved dismissively, “It will be more fun to play with Luthor Junior anyway, seeing that Luthor Senior is pretty unbeatable.”

Kara shrugged. “I don't know about that. Last week Lottie beat us all at Snail's Pace Race.”

Nia rolled her eyes just as the elevator announced their floor with a 'ding'-sound. As they made towards their desks, Nia threw one last smile: “See you at lunch?”

“I've got a deadline, so I might order in. But we could have something in my office?”

“Escaping cubicle jungle for lunch in the bosses' boardroom? Count me in.”

Kara smiled as she entered her office, the smile only growing as she spotted a fresh bouquet of flowers on her desk. Today was gonna be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I know very little about National City's politics, I studied policies and politics with the special focus of gender for a year in uni and let me tell you: parental law for gay parents is shit! It depends on the country, mostly, but for example in parts of the UK a child born to parents in a (legally) heterosexual marriage is assumed to be the child of both of them, while a child born into a (legally) homosexual marriage is automatically the one of the birth parent and the partner will have to be acknowledged. I personally don't see an issue with including the biological parents on the birth certificate or something, but if a homosexual couple is happily married and they have a baby together I don't think they should have to go through so much paperwork before they have equal rights to their child.  
> Anyway, that's me. Let me know what you think about it (and the story ;))!


	4. Chapter 3: The law

**Chapter 3**

“If you had one wish, Kara, what would it be?”

The blonde pondered this for a moment.

“I think I would wish that we could stay in this moment forever,” she whispered, her gaze never leaving the stars above them.

“Me too.”

Kara gently brushed her thumb over the back of the hand she was holding. It was quiet. Only the sound of the waves crashing gently against the shore drifting through the salty air.

“Kara?”

“Yeah?”

There was a shuffling noise and then Kara was face-to-face with her girlfriend, who had propped herself up on her elbow.

“I want to ask you something and... I just want you to give it some thought, if that's alright?” She waited for confirmation and when she got it in a minuscule eyebrow twitch, she continued: “I've been thinking about National City.”

Kara drew in a breath. She'd been afraid to hear that dreaded city's name again. It was the sole reason their rendezvouses of late consisted of an awful lot of serious talk with very little of the familiar comfort of touch she so treasured. Hearing it tonight shattered the peaceful moment they had and pulled her back to the reality of her girlfriend moving what felt like a million miles away from her.

“I don't want to go, but I can't stay.”

“You don't have to,” Kara mumbled under her breath.

“No. But we both now I'm going to.” Lena sighed. Her hand came up, but instead of giving Kara the touch she so longed for, Lena brushed it through her own hair.

“I'm gonna ask you something. And it's a big question. A _huge_ question, really. But I need to ask you. I've been meaning to ask you for weeks and I always chicken out, so, I need to do it today. Tonight... You know what I mean. And when I ask, I need you to just... consider it?”

Lena bit her lower lip, distracting Kara from what she was saying just a little bit.

“I don't need an answer today. I'm not going to be offended if you don't want to, but... uh, fuck it, here it goes: Kara, would you like to move to National City with me?”

Kara blinked. Once. Twice. “You want me to move _in_ with you?”

Lena shrugged, a bit flustered. “I mean... yeah? I hadn't considered the specifics, but I guess that would be appropriate. The apartment is big enough for two people and we've been together for a socially acceptable amount of time, so...”

Kara exhaled. “Okay.”

It earned her a raised eyebrow. “Okay? Just like that?”

Moving to lean up on her elbow as well, Kara smiled brightly.

“Lena, I'd love nothing more than to move in with you.”

Still a bit dumbfounded at the rapid response, Lena argued: “But... Metropolis, Midvale. It's where your friends are, where your family is...”

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. “You are my family, Lena.”

Lena licked her lips and swallowed, willing the tears that threatened to spill to stay where they'd come from.

“I– we've only known each other for two years...”

While anybody else would have probably been annoyed by Lena's apparent indecision on the matter, Kara knew her well enough to know where it originated from. It almost broke her heart to see this side of her love: full of self-doubt and broken trust. She knew it was going to take years before Lena would be able to overcome them. Not that it mattered. She loved that woman with all her heart. For her, she would be patient.

“ _Time is relative_ , a wise woman once told me,” Kara said, reciting Lena's own words back to her, “From the moment you let me take you out for coffee after I all so gracefully made you spill yours I knew you were special.”

Lena was quietly sniffling now, so Kara seized the opportunity to sit up and wrap her girlfriend up in her arms.

“On Krypton people only ever had one partner, you know?”

Despite the lack of a vocal response, Kara was sure Lena was listening. She always loved it when Kara shared stories from her home.

“The marriage matrix chose the perfect match for you. That one special person on the planet you'd love so much that everything else would seem secondary to their presence. I never worried about finding them, because I knew they'd be found for me.”

Heartbeat now steadier and sniffles a bit quieter, Lena had started to relax into Kara's chest. The fingers brushing through raven hair might have also helped. A little.

“When I arrived on Earth and was told that you didn't have a marriage matrix I was shattered. How would I find somebody to love this much without even knowing who was compatible with me?”

Kara sighed, remembering the night Alex woke up Eliza because she'd been annoyed by her new sister crying her head off over some kind of “ridiculous soulmate bullshit... everyone knows there's no such thing as soulmates! It's only chemicals, for god's sake!”

“I wanted all the answers. How would I find them? How would I know? But Eliza only told me: When you know, you know.”

The grip on Kara's arm tightened ever so slightly.

It was too much to be said. Too little to keep silent about.

“You really want to move to National City with me?,” Lena asked after a little while.

Kara pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Any day.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

*

The DEO was buzzing with agents when Kara arrived. She zoomed in on the first familiar face she recognized and didn't even bother entertaining the idea of walking. Time was of the essence.

Winn went in for a hug as soon as she'd floated down. “Kara, thank God –”

“Where are they?,” the younger Danvers asked, holding him firmly at arms' length.

“They're both here. They are being taken care of, but Kara, Lena, she –”

With a swoosh the superhero had quickly moved on down to the med bay.

She couldn't spot her wife nor her daughter, growing more anxious by the minute as she sped through the halls.

_Where are they? I need to see them, where..._

Halting in her track, Kara just listened. A sigh escaped her as she recognized the gentle hiccup pattern of her daughter, a pattern unique to the only half human-Kryptonian person on the planet. According to the sound she changed her direction until she was face-to-face with her child.

Another wave of relief flooded Kara as she saw her daughter, probably not completely unharmed, alas sitting up and seemingly alert.

Whoever the doctor who had been treating her was, he was immediately forgotten when Karlotta spotted her mother, yelling: “Yeju!” and jumping off the bed.

“Hey, you! ...Ouch!”

Effectively escaping from the doctor's grip it was most likely the two-year-old had left the man bruised. Normally, Kara would reprimand her and remember her to be gentle with others, but today she couldn't care less. All she cared about was the feeling of her daughter, bundled up safely in her arms.

“rrip nahn voi,  kir chavh,” Kara mumbled into her dark curls, “Yeju nahn ukep.”

Karlotta sobbed softly into her shoulder, the weight of most recent events weighing heavily on her. It irritated Kara that Alex had left her niece with a stranger. There were plenty of people to choose from that had already made Karlotta's acquaintance.

“urvish, is, ju nim voi.” the young mother reassured.

“Ma- _mama_.” It was faint, almost inaudible, but Kara could hear it well. Both the word mumbled and the distress evident in her daughter's voice.

She brushed her hands down Karlotta's arm as she loosened the embrace to look at her daughter. “Mama will be fine,” she promised, although there was no chance of her knowing that. Her idea of what had happened was too vague. She hadn't even seen Lena yet. In fact, she had no idea where she even was...

_Stop it. This_ is _what Lena wants. She'd want to you to make sure Lottie is okay._

Lena always put their daughter first, always.

And Karlotta... she looked like a mess. Her pigtails had come undone, her nose was runny and she'd evidently been crying. The pink overall was torn in two places judging by what Kara could see from her front view. One of her feet was bare, the other one clad only in a glittery sock. She appeared relatively unharmed for a human, with only one cut that appeared to have been cleaned about her eyebrow. For a Kryptonian this was, of course, a different story. The last years had proven that she wasn't invincible if targeted with the right force or material. To her mother's horror, there was a worrying amount of dark red spots all over her clothes and body.

Kara picked the toddler up, cradling her close to her chest.

“How about we go find mommy, huh? I'm sure she's missed you,” she offered gently.

With impressive strength even for her standards Karlotta pushed off her mother's chest to meet her eye. “Mommy hurt. Mommy owie,” she explained very seriously, “Bad people. Mommy hurt.”

It broke Kara's heart to get confirmation that her wife had been hurt and she hadn't been there for protection. Her sadness only multiplied with the knowledge that  _ their child _ had been there to watch it all.

“I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Lottie. But I'm here now, and I'll protect you.”

The toddler nodded seriously. “Mommy potec' Lottie.”

Of course she had. Kara wiped at her eyes. She didn't want Lottie to restart her crying, but being her child she most certainly would sympathy-cry if Kara was to allow tears. Right now, she had to be strong for her family. At least, until she could find somebody she trusted to take good care of her daughter while she went to take care of her wife.

“Let's go look for auntie Alex, okay? I'm sure she knows where mommy is.”

“Agent Danvers is not to be disturbed,” the doctor, who'd watched the whole interaction silently, put in.

Kara furrowed a brow. “That's my sister, so I will disturb her whenever I want to.”

As they left the room under the man's futile protest, Karlotta patted her mother's cheek.

“Yeju mad?”

“No, baby, of course not.”

But she was. Mad at the world. Mad at the doctor. Mad at herself.

How did she let this happen?

*

“Your options are limited.”

If it surprised Kara to hear someone as accomplished as Katherine Spencer use these words as the first for discussing her custody case, she didn't let it show. For a while now, she hadn't displayed her emotions as openly as she usually would have. If it worried her sister, who had accompanied her to the lawyer's office, Alex didn't let it show, neither.

“Options sounds good, though. Right, Kara?”

She nodded, short and curtly. “We need to win this.”

The lawyer considered her, before nodding. “I can see why Lena married you.”

(If Kara flinched at the mention of her wife's name, it definitely wasn't because of the feelings she was repressing in that field of her life.)

“I don't usually do custody,” Kate went on, “My field of expertise is criminal law and its limits... which I'm sure you are most aware of.” She raised an eyebrow.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Kara replied without missing a beat. She had gotten much better about hiding her secret identity after years of practice.

Kate only smiled. “I was merely talking about your work. The piece on the psychological damage of alien immigrants and how its implications should be considered in criminal justice really got me thinking...” She waved dismissively. “But that's not what you're here for.”

“No,” Kara agreed quickly, “It isn't.”

Flipping through the file on her desk, the lawyer continued to go over the details. “So you conceived your child through IVF and Lena carried her, correct?”

Kara nodded. It wasn't the first thing she'd lied about today. It wouldn't be the last.

“And you used Lena's eggs?”

“Yes. I wasn't eligible. Lena was happy to do it.”

“And when you say you weren't eligible you mean...?”

“Medically,” Alex put in, “Why is this relevant?”

Fixing the older Danvers with a stern look Kate explained: “It's common practice in lesbian couples for one of the parents to carry the child using the other mother's egg. After all, it's the only way in which both mothers pass on some genetic material.”

At this, Kara suppressed a dry chuckle. If only she knew.

“Your 'lack' of participation in the process, Mrs. Danvers, can be twisted to seem like you never wanted to have a baby in the first place.”

And there she'd just been about to offer this woman to call her by her first name.

“That is ridiculous. I _wanted_ her. We both wanted her.”

“I have no doubt you did,” Kate relented, “I'm merely pointing out the gaps in your story that Mrs. Luthor's lawyer might exploit.”

Kara waved a hand, her icy exterior already giving way to exhaustion. “Don't... Just say 'Lillian', please?”

Understanding crossing her face, Kate nodded. “Lillian it is.”

She went back to the files, flipping through pages. The silence was too much for Kara to bear.

“Lena was very happy when it worked,” she shared, her gaze focused on her lap, “She... she was ecstatic. I don't think she realized it until that very moment, but... I don't think she's ever wanted anything more than a family.”

A hesitant smile lit up her face at the memory. Everything had been perfect. Now, everything was in shambles.

The hands in Kara's lap balled into fists as they so often did these days.

“She called me shortly before you had her,” Kate shared mindfully, “She was so excited. I remember her asking about some very specific things for the birth.”

Kara nodded, remembering that Kate had a son herself. “She didn't know many mothers to talk to and she didn't feel comfortable asking my mother these questions.”

“Yeah... I think she only called me because Sam wasn't picking up her phone, in all honesty.”

They shared a small chuckle at the memory of pregnant Lena Luthor. Not only the bane of Jess, that much was for sure.

Kate cleared her throat. “I'm gonna be honest with you, Kara.”  
It wasn't words Kara usually was afraid of, but in this specific context she was glad she had Alex' hand ready to hold.

“Lillian has mobilized some big-shot lawyers. Mark Shaw, Harvey Dent. They will leave no stone unturned to try and prove you a bad mother. Your job, your family, your relationship with Lena... If we want to have a shot at this, you will have to tell me _anything_ and by that I mean anything that they could find out about you.”

Kara gave Alex a look, Alex squeezed her hand.

“I'll tell you everything,” Kara promised the lawyer.

Like they had agreed beforehand. Everything  _ but _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what, I've got a couple more chapters so here's another one!! :D  
> Kate and the other lawyers she mentions are within the universe, but I seriously have no idea whether I portrayed them correctly... If you know better, feel free to drop some comments :)


	5. Chapter 4: the journalist

**Chapter 4**

“But moooooooooooommy.!”

“No, Karlotta, you know the rules: snack sneakily and all the snacks will be locked up.”

The two-year-old crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. “No fair.”

“I agree, darling, but even people with a super fast metabolism can get cavities. No more sugar until dinner. _If_ you behave.”

It wasn't so much that Lena minded her daughter's self-sufficiency as it was the choice of snacks Karlotta kept stealing. Especially given the fact that she'd left her with perfectly good healthy options to choose from in her play corner.

There were certain habits that Lena didn't want to let slide, even at this young age. Being sneaky and eating unhealthily were two of them. While they couldn't be sure how Karlotta would grow up to be and she _was_ indeed very much leaning towards Kara's side in terms of the amount of food she seemed to need at the moment, they had decided that instilling healthy habits was the better choice. Better be safe than sorry, in case her human side proved dominant after all. The sneaking, on the other hand, was very much age-appropriate and something they did let slide occasionally, when she changed her socks or stole some food of one of her mother's plates, for example. Today, though, the two-year-old just continued to push her mother's limits and it was time to reinforce some ground rules.

Lena walked back to her desk without turning around. She was positive that Karlotta would stay in the play corner pouting.

Indeed, when she sat down for more work icy blue eyes followed her every move. Completely unfazed by this silent protest, Lena went back to answer some e-mails. Sure enough, after a while she heard a shuffling sound and when she looked up to check after approving some proposals from downstairs, her daughter had gone back to quietly entertaining herself with some cardboard books.

“Good girl, Lottie,” Lena praised.

The toddler didn't look up trying to stand her ground, but the involuntary pull at the corner of her mouth gave her true feelings away.

Mother and daughter returned to their respective activities for a little while, before Karlotta spoke up into the quiet of the office: “Mommy? Am bored.”

Lena went to check the time. It was still over an hour before Kara would come to pick her up. Karlotta had lasted much longer entertaining herself than Lena expected in the first place as well.

“Alright, Lottie. What would you like to do?”

The toddler pondered this for a couple of seconds, then shrugged.

While it would have been impressive if Karlotta had remembered different things she could do, Lena was happy to list them for her: “We could read a book... or color...” She left a break between each activity to offer her daughter an opportunity to choose. “Or go for a walk...”

“Walk!,” came the enthusiastic reply, “Playgroun'!”

“Alright then,” Lena agreed, certain that they should be back in time, but only if they left right away. She pressed the button on her desk to inform her secretary: “Jess, could you please drop off our coats? Lottie and I will head to the playground for a bit.”

Lena rose from her desk, happy to be wearing boots today. Heels weren't exactly proper playground attire. When she went to pick up her daughter she noticed that the girl was decidedly lacking in this department.

“Where's your shoes, dot?”

“Off.”

“Evidently.”

She turned to scan the room and quickly located them close to the retired resting place of the cookie jar. Whether she was impressed by the insightful decision of taking the shoes off to be less audible or concerned at the level of sneakiness this action exhibited, she couldn't quite say. She shook her head. It didn't matter. Lottie had already learned her lesson for the day.

“C'mon, let's put them on you.”

When Jess entered with their coats, Lena was just finishing up lacing the sneakers, and Lottie was happily babbling about what she would do at the playground in her two-word-sentence-matter.

“Thank you, Jess.”

“Of course, Misses Luthor. Little miss Luthor.”

Lottie giggled gleefully at the formal address.

“We should be back round four. If Kara gets here before we do, do offer her the leftovers from lunch today. I'm pretty positive she didn't take a break to eat.”

“That doesn't sound like her,” Jess commented.

“You tell me.” Lena zipped up Lottie's coat and gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on the floor. “She's been working really hard.”

“Of course. I'll have them heated up for her.”

“Thank you, Jess. C'mon, darling, let's go.”

Karlotta held onto her mother's hand as they walked into the elevator.

“Yeju cookie?”

“No,” Lena replied, though she took note of Karlotta tuning in to their conversation. “Cookies are over for all of us today, remember? But your Yeju can eat some of the salad you didn't finish this noon.”

Karlotta nodded thoughtfully. The elevator dinged and they excited on the ground floor. Lena considered the proximity to the next park a true blessing of their location.

“Miss Luthor! And Miss Karlotta. Heading out?”

“Playgroun',” Karlotta shared excitedly.

The adults chuckled at her enthusiasm.

“See you in an hour, Bill,” Lena bid for their goodbye. Little did she know that this promise would prove futile.

*

Kara fiddled with her glasses. It was hard to focus in this environment of beeping and huffing machines. Her eyes were drawn to various screens and cables. Her hands shaky were they rested on her wife's.

Her wife.

_Focus_ , she reprimanded herself. She hadn't come here to be distracted by all the white noise. Taking a deep breath and exhaling according to an ancient Kryptonian breathing technique Kara calmed her mind so she could actually  _focus_ on her goal.

What was that exactly? If she only knew.

Ever since _that_ day all of Kara's research skills had gone into reading articles about coma and recovery. It wasn't that she didn't trust Alex' words on this, or the other doctors', it was just that she  _needed_ to know more, needed to do more.

She'd come to the conclusion that while it couldn't be proven that Lena knew of her presence, it really couldn't hurt to entertain that idea either. So, she'd visit, every day, to talk to her, keep her in the loop. Until she woke up.

“Lottie's still at school,” was the first thing she said. She always talked about their daughter first, because that was the most important thing for Lena. “They were doing colors the other day and her teacher was quite impressed to find she knows more shades than him.”

Kara chuckled. “Good influence, huh? Apparently, she corrected Mr. Ken when he called 'lime' 'light green'. He said she was very polite about it, though, so nothing to worry about...”

Mentally going about their day, Kara backtracked all events.

“Eliza picked her up yesterday, so everything until dinner is pretty much hear-say. But I wanted to be with you a little, and she really didn't seem to mind...”

Kara brushed her hands over Lena's cold and unresponsive hand, trying not to focus on how much it hurt her to see her like this.

“I talked to Eliza and Alex about taking her to see you, but they said it wouldn't be a good idea. I read some articles on it. They were contradictory, too. It could help her, but it could also scare her and... I don't really need her to become even more scared. She's quite shaken already... Not that you should feel bad about that! I'm handling it fine. I mean... Yesterday, she slept in her own bed for the first time since...”

Kara inhaled sharply, but recovered quickly.

“I think she just misses you, that's all. But she knows you're only gone to get better and she understands that.”

Truly, Karlotta had been taking everything like a champ. Being questioned by federal agents about what happened, the sudden upsurge of paparazzo in their lives, even Lena's absence. Through parts of it, Kara could hardly believe how young she was. Especially when she was comforting her mother, wrapping little chubby arms around her neck and hugging her tight she just seemed so much older.

“L-Corp is doing fine. There was a slight dip in net-worth, but Sam's been managing that quite well from what I hear. Also, Jess and I agreed that the gala next week should go ahead. Even if you're not up to it, I'll just go with Sam. I know it's important that these things go through as planned,” Kara assured her, knowing full well how much Lena had invested in the project that would be presented there.

“I'm doing... Okay, I guess? I mean, I miss you, obviously. It's a bit hectic to become a single parent from one day to the next... not that I'm a single parent, I just mean the longest I've been by myself with her before was seven hours, so. I mean, I can't do the voices you do when reading, and I don't always know whether she gets enough vegetables, but. I think we're managing. I think we're getting better.” She exhaled, not wishing to burden her wife any further. “You don't need to worry about any of it, though. Just use your strength to recover, okay? And take your time. No rush. I've got you.”

Kara bent down and kissed her wife's knuckles. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

*

Lena sighed, the sensation of her knuckles being kissed calming her somewhat.

“She'll love you.”

“I'm sure.”

Kara shook her head, hair flying more than it already was with the slight breeze in the car. “No, for real. She hated all my previous partners – ”

“How reassuring.”

“– but she'll love you.”

Raising an eyebrow in challenge, Lena asked: “How many people did you introduce her to?”

Kara pursed her lips, shrinking a bit, as much as possible for sitting in the driver's seat anyway. “One.”

It took a second for Lena to process that, although it wasn't much of a surprise. After all, they were only 21. Lena herself only had had one more partner in her life. Which made her stop to think.

“You said you've dated men before.”

“Yes...”

“So I'm the first girl you're bringing home?”

“Mhmh.”

A heavy thought dawned on the young science student. “Kara... Does your mother know you're bringing home a girl?”

Kara gave her an incredulous look. “Yeah, of course.”

Lena exhaled. “Oh. Good.”

“I mean, unless she thinks that Lena is a boy's name... ouch!”

Immediately regretting the lighthearted slap, Lena shook her hand out as she winced at the dull pain. “Fuck!”

“You should stop with the swearing once we get to Midvale,” Kara told her very seriously.

Lena raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Are you trying to tell me that the same woman who raised _your sister_ never swears?”

“Yep,” Kara nodded solemnly, “And they say I'm the adopted one.”

Lena squeezed their hands, which still rested between them as the road hadn't required Kara to change gears for a while. Adoption was a touchy subject for both of them, albeit one they initially bonded over. The status of having been adopted was as far as that similarity went, anyway. They both had drastically different home-lives growing up. Lena, who seemed to have ended up with the shorter stick with a mother who outright resented her and an absentee-father, said it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were where they were now.

“She'll love you,” Kara assured once-over. She squeezed her girlfriend's hand once more before letting go so she could change gears. “In any case, it's too late to turn back now. Welcome to Midvale!”

Soon after they'd passed a sign confirming Kara's greeting a light gray and white house came into sight.

“And that's us.”

“Wow. You weren't kidding when you said your house was 'right at the beginning' of Midvale, huh?”

“You know I'm not one to joke.”  
Lena shrugged.

The cobalt blue door at the front of the house, which, considering it used to have four inhabitants at its maximum capacity, would seem huge to everyone who hadn't grown up in the Luthor Mansion themselves, swung open to reveal a blonde Lena could only assume was Kara's adoptive mother.

Her heart sunk.

In what world would a woman who looked so awfully  _nice_ , a woman who raised a person as nice as Kara want a Luthor in their family? Usually, her genius was an advantage, but in situations like these Lena couldn't help it. She seized up, unable to move as her mind moved a hundred miles an hour, coming up with all the awful possible scenarios...

Kara squeezed her hand.

The world slowed down.

Lena met her eyes.

“Hey. Don't worry. I've got you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun story. I had a couple chapters written since August 2020, but I got off track to write an actual book and started my first year of uni. The other day, my final uni exam ever (!) was postponed tbd due to Corona and now I'm here, uploading again, because I felt inspired to pick it up :D Hope you enjoy. 
> 
> PS: I contemplated changing Supercorp Baby's name but I can't be bothered to redo the other chapters. Bear with me.


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